//------------------------------// // ...And Where To Find Them // Story: The Darkest Time is Just Before Dawn // by bookhorse125 //------------------------------// "Where are you going?" I looked up and saw Luster, leaning against the doorway to my room, her head tilted curiously. I was forcing my sweatshirt over my head, the one with the least stains. I had to take to washing my clothes in the kitchen sink, and this method never got all the smears and smudges out of my clothes. "Out." My words were vague on purpose. I didn't really want her to know where I was going; it was kind of personal. "Oh." Luster trotted behind me as I walked towards the door, grabbing my keys and stuffing them in my pocket. "Well, in that case, can I watch television while you're gone?" "Sure. And I left a whole box of strawberries in the fridge for your pleasure," I said, twisting the door handle and stepping outside, checking to make sure that no one was watching. Call me paranoid, but I wasn't about to take any risks. "Just don't go in my room, alright? You know the rules. Don't go-" "Don't go outside, don't draw attention to yourself, stay hidden," she recited in an exhausted voice. "I know, I know." "Good." I closed the door behind me and walked the several miles to the Bean, where I had promised to meet my girlfriend. We were going out for dinner that night (with her paying, of course; she and Gill were the only ones who knew about my financial crisis and were trying to help me however they could). A quick word about my girlfriend. Her name is Lissa Soldier, and her father is rich. Really rich. He owns a line of magazine publishing companies across the U.S. and isn't exactly pleased with his daughter's choice for a boyfriend. But Lissa has a rebellious streak that comes from her mom, who died when Lissa was only a teenager. She's been meeting with me in secret for the past few years and is the only reason I haven't become homeless. She lends me money to help pay for the bills, but she can't give too much, or it'll look suspicious. She's just about the best girlfriend anyone could have, except for one thing: she despises bronies. A couple years back, she and I were walking down the street, when we saw a sign advertising the Whinny City Pony Con, which was taking place in a few days. When she saw the sign, she snorted and said something about "stupid adults liking a kids show. It's supposed to be for little girls, not some teenage guys in their early twenties." My face went pale, causing her to look at me funny. "Are you alright?" she asked me. I nodded, turning away from her so she wouldn't see the shock and fear on my face, away from the Pony Con sign, and instead focused on the shore of Lake Michigan. "Hey, is that a seagull?" I asked, trying to divert her attention away from me. Even now, I still get a rush of fear whenever I remember her words about bronies. I never told her about my obsession with the show, out of fear that she would hate me, too. And I loved her. Not just as a friend, but as a... well, you probably get what I'm trying to say. I didn't want to end our relationship, so I kept my adoration for ponies a secret. Lissa was waiting for me, as always. She was wearing comfortable black leggings, a t-shirt that said Natural Born Genius, hiking boots, and a jean jacket. Her wavy blonde hair rustled slightly in the breeze, pulled back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in her face. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled mischievously like they did every time I saw her. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Whenever I was with Lissa, I felt like I could just let go of all my worries and enjoy the moment. When she saw me, she strolled leisurely over. "About time you showed up," she said jokingly. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten." "Never." I wrapped my arms around her, bringing her in for a hug. Her hair smelled like bubblegum like it always did. "So!" she said brightly, pulling away and grinning at me. "Where should we go?" "I was planning on just following you." I glanced around, my eyes landing on the small, almost invisible speck of bluish-green visible between buildings. "How about we walk by the lake? Maybe feed some seagulls?" "Nah. Too cold." Lissa pulled her jacket tighter around herself. "And also, feeding seagulls? Do I need to remind you what happened last time we tried to feed them, over by the Pier?" I shook my head, my overwhelming fear of getting divebombed by seagulls surfacing. What happened on the Pier, stayed on the Pier. "So... should we just walk, then?" "Let's go to the old water tower," Lissa said, grabbing my arm and leading me in the direction of the old structure. "I always like that place." "The only reason you like it is because you always scare the little kids there with ghost stories about it," I said, rolling my eyes. "I mean, come on. A man was working in the water tower during the Great Chicago Fire, saw the flames approaching, and decided he'd rather be hung than burned to death? And now his ghost haunts the tower, waiting for someone to discover his body and give it a proper burial? Pu-lease. No one's going to believe that." Even as I spoke, I recognized the hypocrisy in my words. I wouldn't believe in Lissa's ghost story, but a kids show about talking horses? Why not? Although, I had solid proof for My Little Pony being more than just another boring cartoon meant to entertain three-year-olds on Saturday mornings, and even proof of it being real. The ghost story... there was no evidence to back it up. It was just an empty claim meant to scare people. "It's not a myth!" Lissa insisted. "I saw his body hanging in the window with my own eyes! It's completely real! I'm just trying to warn the kids so that they aren't so scared when they see him!" "Yeah, but it's perfectly fine to scare them with the story," I muttered to myself, but Lissa heard me. She glared at me and opened her mouth to continue arguing, but I pointed out a large billboard to shut her up. "Oh, look!" I said with forced enthusiasm. "There's a sale at Penelope's..." Lissa rolled her eyes, but we had an enjoyable evening wandering the streets. We picked up some dinner at some food vendors lining the streets and took an elevator to the top of the Willis Tower when it got dark, to see the spectacular view of the city at night. Lights covered even the back streets with a golden glow, the city probably being visible from space. We played a game where we had to pick out the most different colored lights in a minute, and Lissa won, as usual. I couldn't help it; her eyes were just sharper than mine. She managed to spot even the glow of some old Christmas lights in a thrift store window, blinking and flickering and almost invisible against the backdrop of the city. By ten, we had been wandering the streets for an hour, telling each other corny jokes and laughing at how terrible they were. It wasn't until Lissa checked her watch (a very expensive Apple watch, which was something I could never have even dreamed of affording) that we realized just how late it was getting. "Oh, God... I'd better get home..." she muttered. "I'll see you in a week?" she said to me. I tried to make my expression happy and hopeful, masking the disappointment underneath. Sometimes, I wished our nights out could last forever. Then I remembered Luster, and I actually didn't feel too bad about leaving. When I spoke, the cheerfulness in my voice was one hundred percent genuine. "Yeah. Next week. See you then!" It took me another half-hour to walk back to my apartment, but I didn't mind. Like every time I finished an evening with Lissa, I was full of happiness, so much so that I felt like I could fly to the moon and back. I opened the door to my apartment, and, even though it was way past the time when Luster should have been in bed, there was still light coming from the television, indicating that she was still watching the news. But she was strangely quiet. I didn't hear any of the shouting or yelling or muttering to herself about how stupid these people were that usually accompanied her watching a news broadcast. My thoughts were so focused on Lissa that I didn't hear what she was watching as I walked into my room and flicked on the light. I stopped. The scene was not what I had left my room in. My mattress was lying on the floor, the blankets all messy and tangled with the one pillow I owned, and the lock was lying next to it. The box was open, revealing every single piece of My Little Pony merchandise I owned. I scrambled towards it and dropped to my knees. The DVD box for Season 1 was missing. An extremely familiar and extremely catchy song began in the living room. I had unintentionally memorized the lyrics and couldn't get it out of my head for the next few days every time I heard it. Winter wrap-up, winter wrap-up... My heart stopped and I stumbled towards the living room. Let's finish our holiday cheer... Luster was sitting on the couch, her eyes misty and full of confusing and mixed emotions. She looked up at me with hurt eyes that almost killed me with guilt. "How long?" she whispered, not even able to form a full sentence. I couldn't help it; as the catchy lyrics filled my head, I crumpled to the ground and let the tears fall.